See You On The Other Side
by Nukem999
Summary: Chrono tweaks Rosette's time clock to try and restore her lost time, but it backfires and transports both of them into the future a.k.a modern day New York! They encounter the Extreme Ghostbusters and not only have to deal with this strange new world, but the return of an old enemy from their distant past. And Kylie and Eduardo get relationship advice from Rosette and Chrono?
1. The Right Question

**See you on the other side**

**Chapter 1: The Right Question**

Nukem: _Author here! This may seem like a WEIRD idea for a crossover, but to me, it's a perfect match considering these two universes line of work. This is a mixture of Extreme Ghostbusters and Chrono Crusade. I have ALWAYS wanted to see more of XGB, whether it's a new series, a live movie or a fan fic but there's like NOTHING for any of those categories out there. So I decided to make a story about them myself. This is kind of a fish out of water, crossover, romance kinda story and it's one I've wanted to write for some time now but lacked the time and motivation to put to paper. I really tried my best to stay as accurate to all the characters as possible and instead of picking up where CC ended or doing one of those universe reboots where everyone is in high school or in the same universe automatically (can't STAND those!), I decided to do something kinda in the middle. _

_I felt these 2 couples I'm focusing on make for perfect foils for each other and allow them to see relationships from unique point of views. I'm sticking closely to the anime storyline as best I can; with some slight tweaks that you will see/understand in future chapters. I also want to give a big fat thank you to **Janika** for beat reading this chapter and helping me out in many ways through out the contents. Oh and by the way, there are references to an episode of Extreme Ghostbusters called "Ghost apocalyptic future". It helps if you saw the episode, but I will clue in enough details that people who don't know the show or have seen the episode can still follow along with everything. With all that said and done, enjoy the story and review/comment if you want to say what you liked/didn't like/would like to see in the future etc. I can't know if you guys don't tell me! Enjoy the fic ^_^_

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><p>The sky teams with darkness.<p>

An endless darkness bathes existence in a black, infinite blanket of stars, planets and cosmic mysteries screaming with enigmatic beauty beyond comparison. Amongst the darkness there fell droplets of frozen magic.

Snow…eternally beautiful snow.

It was the last night of the celebrated holiday of Christmas and the final falling flakes of winter had already begun transforming a once dark and colorless town into a wonderland of ivory. Colored lights, jingling bells and carols of long-treasured favorites bring merriment to even the dreariest of souls on the loneliest of nights.

Not so lonely was a particular pair of youthful exorcists, charming each other's company with warm smiles and twinkling gazes out at the majestic snow fallen across the buildings. The view of the balcony from Sister Kate Valentine's Order of Magdalene church left Rosette Christopher and demon sinner Chrono breathless at the beautiful landscape they had been so privileged and honored to witness. The two exorcists felt particularly proud of one another thanks largely to their choice in gifts, and the "gift" of Christmas to their young friend Azmaria Hendric. The party had ended a mere hour ago.

Chrono and Rosette were completely alone there. Chrono closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he then exhaled and reopened his eyes.

"Sometimes when I look out at the city, with all these lights and decorations and seeing all of this snow…it reminds me of the old days. It reminds of me of when we all met as children, well…heh…when you and your brother were kids."

"Where'd you get that from, Chrono?"

A brief pause left a moment of sweet silence between Chrono and Rosette. The young-looking devil boy looked at Rosette. Chrono turned his gaze towards the open snow-covered city, his blood red eyes gleaming with ghost-like shimmers of memories from what felt like an eternity.

"When I was with you and Joshua, I felt like everything was perfect, everything was peaceful," Chrono turned to look at Rosette.

"Everything was beautiful," Rosette blinked nervously and blushed an adorably sweet shade of red at this. "I remember thinking that our times together when you were young could last forever like an ageless, immortal place in time. I wish everything could have stayed the same."

"I know what you mean. I can't help thinking that if he was here, everything would be exactly the same. I really wish he could have been here enjoying Christmas with us tonight."

"Me too, Rosette. Me too."

She turned her head slightly to one side, considering. "But in a weird way it's kind of good that he isn't here right now."

"What do you mean, Rosette?"

"The only reason we're here—the only reason we're at the order with Sister Kate, Father Remington, Azmaria and the Elder—is because my brother is missing. We joined the order to find my brother and stop devils like Aion from doing the same thing to anyone else. If Joshua had never been taken, we never would have come here and met all these wonderful new friends."

"Does the same go for a certain red-headed German jewel witch we both know? I'm sure Zatella would have been surprised to hear that."

BONK!

Chrono groaned and rubbed his aching head, feeling a lump brewing amidst his purple locks and red headband. The devil boy cringed meekly at Rosette's snarling face, fearful she might bop him on the head again.

"Thou shalt not speak a word of this to that royal pain, GOT IT?"

Rosette raised her fist up with that signature crazy, mad woman look in her eyes. Chrono flinched nervously and nodded to avoid her bare-knuckled wrath.

"Ugh…got it…you know you didn't have to hit me that hard. I think I'm going have a third horn when I wake up tomorrow."

Rosette sighed and laughed softly, returning her cerulean eyes towards the endless wonderland of snow-laced serenity. The red suited devil looked to his female friend with ruby red eyes; each twinkling ripple in Chrono's stare shined with Rosette's reflection.

_It's not fair Rosette…it's just not fair. Every Christmas that goes by without Joshua just tears you up inside a little bit more; I can see it…I've always been able to see it. I just wish I could be with you without shortening your life every time I have to transform. Maybe my REAL Christmas wish can become a reality, all I need is to borrow—_

"WERE GONNA BRING YOUR BUTT BACK HERE JOSHUA, I PROMISE!"

Rosette's sudden declaration took Chrono off-guard; he gasped and stumbled backwards a bit. Rosette looked to her partner and smirked.

"What are you doing with your head in the clouds there, Chrono? The night is still young, Christmas time is still here and we got LOTS more partying to do."

"Um Rosette, don't you think it's getting kind of late to—"

The blond exorcist yanked Chrono by his arm before he could finish. Rosette was loudly cheering and pumping her fists in the air, heading back into the church and dragging her wet blanket of a partner close behind her boots.

"Applesauce! This Christmas bash is just getting started. We're gonna cut a rug, scarf down punch and spread enough holiday cheer until the New Year!"

"Rosette, we got so much work to do tomorrow to get ready for our trip."

"Less talking and more partying, devil boy."

Chrono gave in and simply sighed, a warm smile returning to his face as he watched his friend hoot and holler down every church hall. Rosette always had an infectious sense of excitement when she got like this; it was one of the many reasons Chrono loved being by her side.

_Don't you worry, Rosette. Starting tonight, I'm going to do everything within my power to make sure that spirit of yours lives on to its fullest. I may have already given you your Christmas present, but with a little extra help I will be able to give you the greatest __**gift **__of all._

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><p>Later that night…<p>

Rosette's snores were loud enough to shatter church bells. The blond girl lay on the floor, a wine bottle lazily clutched in one of her arms while the other lay sprawled out by her messy blond hair. Numerous party-goers surrounded Rosette on the floor while others had gone to bed instead of passing out on the floor like the blond exorcist had. Chrono tiptoed out of the room and headed towards the Elder's shed, a pair of documents clutched tightly in Chrono's fingers. The purple-haired devil entered the shed and found the elderly pervert snoozing on his workbench with a mug in one hand. Chrono groaned and rubbed his head upon seeing the Elder's state. The devil grabbed the man's shoulders and desperately shook him back to consciousness.

"Elder sir, please wake up. I have something really important to talk to you about."

The old man grumbled loudly from his workbench. The Elder's drunken eyes shielded by the red goggles he always wore and his white locks were in a mangled mess.

"Dammit boy, don't you know better than to wake you're sleeping elders? I was having such a SWEET dream, why did you have to wake me from it?"

"Sir, I'm actually older than you, remember?"

The old man paused for a moment and scratched his head, counting his fingers in a drunken stupor until finally shrugging in defeat. Chrono rolled his eyes and scratched his head.

The Elder's head tilted upon seeing what Chrono was holding. "So back to the matter at hand…"

Chrono handed the Elder the documents he was carrying. The old man examined them. They were blueprints and schematics of the time clock Rosette wore around her neck: the device that bound their lives to the contract.

"What exactly do you want me to do with this, Chrono?"

Chrono leaned in close. "I want you to please try and make a duplicate, only I want it to have the reverse effect. I want it to use the same energy to restore Rosette's lost time."

The Elder gawked at him. "That's impossible! You can't just recharge someone's life like refueling a gas tank. Besides, duplicating the shell wouldn't do you or Rosette any good."

Chrono's face sunk. "What do you mean?"

"I can't duplicate the same power source that connects your life energies together. Only the Sinners would know how this gadget really works."

"Then it's a total lost cause." Chrono turned his head to the side and closed his eyes tightly. The devil was heartbroken. This had been his only hope.

The old man tapped his chin thoughtfully. "However…"

Chrono quickly turned his eyes back to the Elder.

"However, there still might be a way I can help you and Rosette."

"Please tell me how. I'll do anything," he said, leaping at anything that could promise help for Rosette.

The Elder examined the blueprints closely and scratched his gray-bearded chin. "I can't promise anything…but…I think I can craft a sort of amplification device that will be attached to Rosette's clock and use astral line energy to attempt to replenish time energy within Rosette's body. Essentially, it would take in astral line energy and convert it back into a form of life force base energy."

"You mean use time itself to replenish Rosette's lost time?"

"Basically yes, but it's a _long _stretch and that's being extremely generous. Manipulating astral energy and mixing it with time energy could result in a cataclysmic explosion that could wipe you both out, taking countless lives along with you. Or worse, damage the very fabric of time itself."

Chrono shook his head and clenched his fists. "I don't care! If Rosette gets back the time that I've stolen from her then I'll do whatever it takes."

The Elder smiled and rubbed Chrono's purple hair in an almost fatherly way. The devil looked at the old man with a curious look of confusion while the Elder laughed and rolled up the documents.

"That's all I needed to hear. Our Lord works in mysterious ways, but who would have thought something as mysterious as a devil professing his love to a nun would happen?" The Elder gently placed his hand on Chrono's shoulder. "You may be a devil, Chrono, but your heart is as pure as Heaven's finest angels."

Chrono laughed nervously while his cheeks became rosy red with blushes. Though so many looked at the devil boy with fear, it was nice to know others saw him as a person rather than a monster.

"Thank you, Elder" Chrono shook the Elder's hand happily. "Just the fact you're trying means the world to me…and I know it will mean the world to Rosette."

"Just remember, Chrono, I cannot make any promises this will work. Constructing such a device may take a very long time; I might not be able to even craft it in time for you to use it. Are you prepared for that?"

Chrono nodded firmly. "I am, Elder. Rosette is worth it 100 percent."

The Elder smiled and headed for the bed in his workshop. The old inventor turned his head to Chrono and nodded to him. "Yes, she is."

* * *

><p><em>Many years in the future…<em>

The Ecto 1 came blaring through the front doors of the Ghostbusters' firehouse. Janine looked over the rims of her glasses, casually glancing from her paperwork to the newly-arrived busters.

"Well boys and girls, what's the catch of the day this time?" Janine asked, examining her nails.

Four teenagers exited the modified ghost hunting vehicle. First was Eduardo: the tallest buster on the team; a male of Hispanic descent, he had brown hair plus a goatee and wore a green shirt, brown gloves, blue pants and a pale orange vest. Next was Garrett: reddish brown hair, pale peach-colored uniform and sat in a wheelchair. After Garrett was Roland: African American, black hair, second-tallest on the team and sported a light gray uniform with rusty red gloves. Lastly was Kylie: the only female Ghostbuster; she had striking black painted eyelids, black lipstick painted lips, long black hair and a black one-piece suit that went down to her thighs. Kylie wore a bright orange armor chest piece that housed the ghost trap on her back; she removed the smoking device from her back with brown gloves.

"It was a class 6 pyro-kinetic free-floating apparition. Good thing we stopped it too. Can't imagine the damage this thing would have caused if we let it run wild."

Kylie's description caused visible irritation to Eduardo; he groaned and rolled his eyes. The Goth girl sneered and looked to Eduardo with equally frustrated groans.

"What? What is your problem now, Eduardo?"

"You always gotta keep kissing up like were still in class? Wouldn't it have been just as easy to say it was a big fire-breathing pumpkin-headed thing?"

Kylie approached Eduardo and pointed at his chest firmly. "It's called _spiritual classification, EDUARDO_. Sorry I can't use such scientific terms like 'big pumpkin-headed thing' as easily as you can."

Eduardo was about to say something rude back, but Kylie slammed the ghost trap into his chest. The teen grunted and clutched the trap in his gloved fingers.

"Now, do you think you can put that class 6 pyro-kinetic free-floating apparition into the containment unit without whining and moaning?"

"Fine, I will! At least Egon doesn't insult me when he rambles on with that loco science talk; you on the other hand can't decide whether you want to bore me to death or nag me to death."

Eduardo stormed down the stairs to the basement with the trap. Kylie stomped her orange boots on the ground, cupping her gloved hands around her mouth to shout after Eduardo.

"If you did drop dead then at least I'd have the pleasure of busting you and trapping you myself!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Elvira; you couldn't handle me dead OR alive."

Kylie screamed through clenched teeth; her gloved hands reaching up to grab something in the air until ultimately dropping to her sides. The Goth girl stormed off without another word being said. Garrett and Roland approached Janine's desk; both of them hung their heads and sighed heavily.

Janine leaned in close to the boys. "How long have those two been at it?"

Garret rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? When they have NOT been at each other's throats today? That's the real question."

"I don't know what their problem is but it's getting worse and if this keeps up, it's going to start affecting the job," Roland said solemnly.

Janine sighed and watched as the boys headed off to pack the gear away and get something to eat. Even though she hadn't been focusing on Kylie and Eduardo particularly, Janine knew the boys were right; things between those two have been tense lately. Despite all the experiences those two had gone through, Kylie and Eduardo always acted as though they couldn't stand breathing the same air. Janine could tell something was up, more so than anyone else around here. Garret and Roland saw only the noise and nothing more, and Egon was so wrapped up in his work that he wouldn't know where to begin in dealing with the two teens.

Janine stood up from her desk and headed upstairs, her green heels clicking softly as she walked. Kylie was seen in the recreational room quietly reading. Janine looked at Kylie and shook her head. "Typical Kylie; whenever things go sour she dumps herself into a book."

The pale-skinned girl lifted her eyes from her book and turned her head to see the woman standing there. "Can I help you with something, Janine?"

"That's what I came up here to ask you, Hun. You seem stressed."

"I'm just fine. I'm just reading up on some of goat-face's family history."

Janine blinked at Kylie's "goat-face" remark; no doubt a nasty little nickname for Eduardo. The receptionist curiously peeked at the book. The title read Hell Lords and Sinners: Demons of the Damned.

The name made Janine groan slightly. And here she thought Eduardo was the juvenile one. Kylie returned to her reading and seemingly ignored Janine's presence. The book was suddenly snatched from her hands and snapped shut. The dark-haired girl sighed heavily and looked up knowing she was going to have to put up with a lecture.

"I know you two get along as well as cats and dogs, but lately you guys have been on each other cases like clockwork. Mind telling me what's up?"

"He's a lazy, big-mouthed jerk and I want to smack him over the head with every book in existence!"

Janine nodded. "You say that like this is your first time meeting him."

Kylie groaned and slumped her face onto the desk then she sat back up rubbing her nose tenderly. Janine laughed softly but quickly ceased laughing once the girl glared at her.

"If it wasn't for the fact he's a good Ghostbuster, I would be begging Egon to kick his sorry butt off the team."

"Come on, Kylie, you can't really mean that."

Kylie prepared to angrily respond with a resounding yes, but her pale cheeks drained of her rage and her voice calmed back to a softer tone. Her dark, spiky locks helped conceal just how truly flustered this situation was making her appear.

"No…no I don't, but I don't know how else to deal with him. He's just like my cat sometimes: he does whatever he wants, acts like a jackass and expects everyone to just go along with his obnoxious behavior without question." Kylie idly twirls her hair in her fingers. "Like he can just act stupid and we HAVE to deal with it."

"You kids are just different; the same kind of things happened from time to time with the original Ghostbusters. Besides, not that I'm picking sides here but I've noticed it's harder for Eduardo to connect to people," Janine tried to point out.

Kylie scoffed. "That's because he's _Eduardo_."

"Obviously something is working because you guys have been able to work together as a team and handle any call we've had." Janine put a finger to her chin, inquisitively. "So maybe the right question to ask is what specifically is _not_ working that has you so fed up?"

"Everything!" Kylie angrily counted on her fingers. "He makes fun of my hair, he keeps making stupid Elvira jokes, he keeps telling me I should lay off the eye shadow and t-t-that'd I'd look less scrawny in another outfit." The Goth girl slammed her fists down and looked to Janine. "Do you know he actually said my perfume makes me smell like a skunk and I'd smell better if I tried some crap he found in a magazine sample flyer?"

Janine listened to Kylie considering every word. Suddenly, Janine's eyebrows shot up as she began contemplating the specific complaints Eduardo had about Kylie. Hair? Lay off make up? Outfit choices? Perfume recommendations? Janine sported a crafty little smirk on her face; one that made Kylie very confused.

"What's with that weird look? Did I say something funny?"

Janine leaned close to Kylie, teasingly replying. "You know…all of those things you mentioned seem to have a common theme. I was looking in this magazine the other day and they say, sometimes, when a guy complains about certain things like that it—"

Kylie pointed to Janine. "Finish that sentence and I SWEAR…_**I will burn this firehouse to the ground**_."

Kylie jerked out of her chair and stormed off; looking a thousand times more pissed off and enraged than she was before. Janine made a 'my lips are sealed' motion with her fingers and closed her eyes until Kylie left the room. Though not the receptionist's intention to make the girl even angrier, she felt teasing was an amusing distraction for both of them.

"At least she's not hiding herself in books this time," Janine murmured to herself as she headed back downstairs to her receptionist desk.

Kylie was standing in the bathroom, her back leaning against the door. The girl let her legs slowly collapse; she slumped against the door and sighed.

"What is it? What's freaking me out? What's the real question that is making me feel this way?"

Kylie unfolded some sheets of paper from her pocket. The sheets were tattered, old, frayed and had scorched marks all around the edges. The papers were from an old diary that came from the future version of Kylie Griffin…the same future where she died in a war led by the time traveling ghost, Tempest. After the ghost was defeated, Kylie destroyed the diary written by her future self and swore she would never learn the details of her death or anything else about the future.

Kylie sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "Or maybe it's not the question that scares me when I look at these pages, but rather, it's the answer that's making me feel so angry and confused." The Ghostbuster opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Kylie secretly saved a few pages from the diary's charred remains; she hid this from her team's knowledge. Despite her claims that she didn't want to know about her future, Kylie was unable to deny her curiosity. The girl forced herself to look at the pages with nervous, uneasy eyes. Her hands would shake and tears would form sometimes upon reading certain events.

"There's so much in these pages I don't understand; so much that doesn't make sense or relates to some other missing pages. But even with the missing pages, even with the burn marks on some of these…there are some things…I can clearly make out. I don't want this future to be true; I don't want to think about this…this… IT'S NOT RIGHT! This CAN'T be true! Even if there was a war, I can't believe I would do anything like _this_. This is just a bunch of garbage, it doesn't mean anything. It's a stupid alternate reality that doesn't exist anymore."

The pale Goth girl held the pages with trembling hands; she crumpled them into a ball and angrily tossed it at the garbage can. The paper ball missed its mark and bounced across the floor. Kylie sniffled and buried her hands into her arms across her knees, the paper ball slowly uncurled on the bathroom floor.

"They can never know…they can never know about this."

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><p>To be continued…<p> 


	2. Moments Between Us

**Moments between us**

_This chapter took longer than I thought but I'm taking it as a good thing! I really want to put more work and effort into my stories, I don't wanna just churn them out without any kind of depth being put into them. I'm still building up the relationships between the two lead couples. The actual crossover part will be here in the next chapter! There will also be continual references to certain episodes in "Extreme Ghostbusters" as well as "Chrono Crusade" episodes. However, I will clarify and explain those references as they occur, since I sadly know all too well not too many people are familiar with this excellent Ghostbusters cartoon. Another big thanks to Janika for beta reading this chapter, feel free to leave comments, critiques, questions and ENJOY!  
><em>

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><p>Christmas celebration had come and passed; now was the time to get back to work. Rosette and Chrono had been preparing to head to San Francisco to investigate the possibility of finding Joshua there. Though Rosette knew not to get her hopes up, she still had some hope this would finally lead her to her long lost brother. The car had been packed with Chrono and Rosette's belongings, but it would still be a few hours until they needed to be at the train station. Rosette smiled and placed the last bit of luggage into the trunk. The blond girl nodded and rubbed her gloved hands together.<p>

"Okay, that's the last of everything, Chrono. I made sure to pack some extra gospels just in case we run into any trouble on the trip there."

Rosette looked behind to double-check with Chrono if they forgot anything but the baby-faced devil was nowhere to be found.

Rosette scratched her head. "Now where did he get to?"

A voice from afar called out, "Miss Rosette, I have the last suitcase Chrono was carrying."

Rosette heard Azmaria's voice coming from behind a rather large suitcase, the pale girl was barely able to hold the luggage. Azmaria was wobbling in her pink boots.

The blond nun angrily placed her hands on her hips. "Now what in the world are you doing with that? I told Chrono HE was supposed to carry that thing, that lazy flat tire!"

Azmaria struggled to keep the suitcase up. "No, no it's all right, Miss Rosette. I want to pull my own weight around here so I told him it was fine."

Azmaria gasped, for at that moment she tripped on the inevitable loose pebble whose only purpose was to foil her up, falling backwards as the suitcase landed on her like a ton of bricks.

Rosette groaned and pulled the luggage off her friend. "This is a load of baloney, dumping this stuff onto you when he knows I asked him to do it," Rosette said as she reached down and helped Azmaria up back to her feet.

Azmaria brushed her clothes clean. "He said he had something important on his mind and asked if I could load this up while he took care of whatever it is he needed to take care of."

The blond exorcist frowned and began stomping off in search of that sneaky red devil. Azmaria tried to stop Rosette and tell her it was no big deal, but the blond girl was already steaming like a boiling kettle and not about to simmer down that easily.

"Azmaria, watch over the car and luggage while I drag that bum back here. Soon as I find Chrono we're getting our wiggle on and don't take any wooden nickels while I'm gone."

After a few minutes of searching, Rosette spotted him by the entrance to the Elder's shed. The Elder was in the back getting something for Chrono who looked anxious and nervous.

Rosette growled and clenched her fists tightly. "I'm gonna go give him an earful for horsing around with the Elder at a time like this."

The Elder returned and carefully slipped Chrono something wrapped in brown paper. The devil quickly stashed it inside his coat and sighed heavily.

"Hey, Chrono, WHAT do you think you're doing?"

Chrono froze stiff at the sound of Rosette's voice. "Applesauce, it's Rosette! I'm so toast if she finds out what I had you make for me."

The Elder looked over Chrono's shoulder and saw that Rosette practically had steam shooting out of her ears. "Based on how angry she looks, you're probably toast even if she doesn't find out."

"Good point, but no matter what don't let her know—"

"CHRONOOOOOOOO!"

The devil gulped in fear of what painful horrors the blond exorcist would unleash upon him if he dared turned around to face her. Rosette tapped her brown boot in annoyance. Since he was unwilling to voluntarily turn, she grabbed Chrono by the shoulder and forced him to look at her infuriated blue eyes.

Chrono laughed weakly. "H-h-h-h-hey Rosette how's it g-g-going? You're looking especially d-d-dolled up today. Is that a new habit?"

"Stow it, staller, I know exactly what you did and you are not getting away with it."

Chrono's eyes widened. "You do? B-b-but I thought you'd be happy about it."

Rosette shook her head with confusion. "What could have possibly given you the idea that would make me happy?"

"I just thought this could solve a lot of problems for both of us; or at the least, make things easier for you."

The blond pointed her finger at him like a nagging mother. "Dumping your workload onto Azmaria doesn't make things easier for me; it makes it easier for YOU and that's just lazy!"

Chrono was about to protest again until he realized what Rosette was actually angry about. The devil looked back at the Elder who gave him a thumbs up sign to indicate Chrono was safe and Rosette knew nothing about the "special package" he'd just given him.

Chrono turned back to Rosette with almost cheerful relief. "Oooooooh, I get it now. You're mad I asked Azmaria to carry that big suitcase."

BONK!

Chrono cried out as Rosette busted her fist across her purple-haired head. The red devil was left clutching his throbbing noggin.

"Of course I'm mad at you for that! What the hell else did you think I was talking about? For someone with pointy ears you sure don't hear things very clearly."

But the smile on Chrono's face never left him even as he held his head where a lump was now forming. Despite the possibility the device would be a failure; still, Chrono was happy the Elder was able to come through for him before they left for San Francisco.

Chrono rubbed the back of his head, smiling. "I'm really sorry Rosette; I didn't mean to dump it onto Azmaria. I just uh…needed to clear my head of a few things first."

Rosette sighed. "Well, why didn't you say so? I know we've got some time before our train leaves but you can at least tell me these things so Azmaria doesn't end up holding the bag."

Rosette's blue eyes suddenly widened, something or rather _someone_ was rubbing their pervy little hands across her butt. The nun angrily pulled out her pistol and aimed at the wrinkly skull of the Elder. He held his hands up in mock-defeat.

Rosette looked down at the Elder sinisterly. "And speaking of holding things, if I ever catch you holding any part of my body like that again I'm going to test every new bullet you make on your wrinkly old carcass."

"Heh, can't blame an old man for trying now, can you, dear?"

BONK! BONK!

Rosette stormed off dragging Chrono by his purple hair back towards Azmaria and the car. The Elder was left nursing two large bumps on his head from the butt of Rosette's gun. The old man groaned and twitched on the ground like a wounded fly.

* * *

><p><em>15 minutes later…<em>

Chrono and Rosette stood by the car in silence. Azmaria was nowhere to be found, despite the fact that Rosette had strongly urged her to stay put. The bitter, blue-eyed blond tapped her booted foot on the ground. Chrono sighed at Rosette's rising anger as she began to pace in an erratic circle.

Chrono raised his hands to try and calm his best friend. "Rosette, please take it easy. Azmaria probably just forgot something and went to go get it. You know she's not one to shirk responsibility."

Rosette ceased pacing and froze perfectly still at those words. She turned her head and locked her menacing blue eyes onto Chrono's. The devil boy slowly lowered his hands and gave a nervous laugh that felt about as hollow as an empty milk jug.

"Unlike SOME people I know."

"I know, I know. I have no room to talk. We don't need to make a big deal out of this."

"Well I want to talk about _something_ while were waiting for Azmaria, so it might as well be this."

"Geez, you're really not going to let this go, are you?"

Rosette sighed and rubbed her temples. "I just don't understand what was so important you had to wander off and not tell me." The girl's gaze intensified, "You know finding Joshua means everything to me. Even if we do have hours before our train leaves I want to get there as soon as possible."

Silence once again emerged between the two exorcists.

Chrono looked down with a solemn look on his youthful face; his blood-red eyes appeared deep in thought. The soft silence and sorrowful look on Chrono's face caused Rosette's anger to melt away. Chrono looked up as he felt something soft and warm gently take his hand; he noticed Rosette had removed her gloves, the contact speaking more than any words could. The partners locked eyes.

"Hey, it's all right… You can tell me anything Chrono…I promise I won't get mad."

"I don't want to overburden you Rosette. You've got so much to worry about with Joshua. I can figure this out on my own."

"But what if I don't want you to?"

Chrono was about to protest but stopped himself and sported a warm smile. Rosette returned the boy's grin with one of her own. He always looked so much more handsome when he had that lovely smile of his.

Giving in to her smile, Chrono laughed and nodded. "Oh, all right. You win."

"HA! Of course I do!" Rosette cheered, her fist proudly pounding her chest. "Did you expect anything less from the great Rosette Christopher?"

"Heh, perish the thought."

Being an immortal devil that has experienced so much pain over the years has no doubt given Chrono many reasons not to smile; which is all the more reason why Chrono's smile is so precious to Rosette. Every day Rosette wakes up, she is reminded of that clock draining time from her life little by little. Sometimes her mind screams at her to break this contract, be free of this infernal clock so she could live a long and meaningful life. But whenever Rosette starts to think like that, she is reminded of Chrono's sweet…_adorable _smile and she knows that every day with him is meaningful.

"So," Rosette sat on the luggage Azmaria had carried, softly patting next to her. "What's on your mind, Chrono?"

"Well…this may sound strange but..." Chrono paused as he sat down. "I've been thinking a lot about the future."

"The future? Like what kinds of things about the future?"

"Yours, mine, Azmaria's, the order, the world...even Aion's."

Rosette scratched the back of her head, nearly upsetting her veil in the process. "Uhhhh, yeah I'm not really following where you're going with this." She looked around in search of her missing friend, "Where the heck is she? I'm tired of chasing after everyone today." Her gaze returned to her partner's.

"Lately I've just been thinking of what happens after we rescue Joshua and stop Aion; what then? Will there still be a need for the Order? Will there still be demons for us to stop or will all of it vanish once Aion is defeated? I can't help thinking about how the world is going to change."

"Whoa, buddy! Hold your horses. We've still got to FIND Aion before we can talk about celebrating his defeat. There's too much going on right now that we need to be doing." Rosette stared into the sky, her tone becoming soft and distant. "The future is far away and I haven't really had time to think about it. I guess you could say I'm just waiting to cross that bridge when we come to it."

The smile on Chrono's face widened at Rosette's response. He was slightly amused at Rosette's line of thinking though not entirely surprised. Rosette returned her gaze back to Chrono as he began to speak.

"I'm not the least bit surprised, Rosette. We've been fighting Aion and looking for Joshua for what seems like forever. All those years I spent in Hell and even with Mary Magdalene feel like it was another life completely. When you and Joshua opened the tomb, I was surprised at how much the world has changed and spending time here at the Order has only made me realize how rapidly the world is moving forward."

Rosette leaned back and laughed casually, "Well it's lucky for you then. You're going to live on forever and see the world. Not to mention you get to keep your—"

Chrono pleadingly interrupted, "NO, don't say that."

The devil boy lunged towards Rosette and hugged her as if he never wanted to let her go, burying his face into her chest. Rosette blushed at this sudden burst of affection.

"There's no future worth living unless you're in it. If you were to die, it'd be like I was living inside that tomb all over again…and that's a nightmare too horrifying to even imagine. It kills me to see your life get reduced by our contract, even if it _is _the thing that brought us together. But no matter what happens, don't act like there's no tomorrow for you," Chrono looked into Rosette's eyes, "because as long as I'm around I promise there always will be."

Rosette's eyes slowly began to tear up. "Chrono I…I…I…" she wiped her eyes clean, gasping to find her voice. "I don't know what to say."

Chrono giggled mischievously. "Say you'll let me drive so there's no chance of us crashing along the way?"

BONK!

Rosette crunched her knuckles into Chrono's head, ending the tender moment. The blond nun stormed back to the car while muttering insults under her breath.

Chrono winced as he rubbed his aching head. "Sorry Rosette, I just wanted to make sure we got there in one piece."

Azmaria returned, bowing repeatedly to her friends for being late.

_Sorry Rosette, I really didn't want to end that perfect little moment we had…but it needed to be done. There's too much going on right now. The last thing we need is me confessing my true feelings for you. _

The young devil removed the amplifier from his pocket and examined it with solemn eyes.

_I believe we will find Joshua; I truly do believe that. And when we do find him, I want to make sure you have all the time in the world to spend with him. I don't care about the risks. This device HAS to work…it just has to. _

"Hey slowpoke! Stop daydreaming, we've got a train to catch so let's crack on."

Chrono quickly pocketed the amplified and nodded to Rosette. "All right I'm coming!"

_Now's not the right time. I'll show her when she needs it the most..._

* * *

><p><em>Present day…<em>

Kylie slowly searched the hallways of the firehouse, her dark eyes moving from room to room. The pale girl clutched the future diary. Kylie's pace became slower with every step she took. She was reluctant to find what she was looking for and was seriously considering abandoning her search and going back to the library.

"HA, HA, yes! Now that's more like it!"

Kylie stopped and turned to the room where that voice was coming from; it was Eduardo's.

The dark-haired girl sighed and closed her eyes. "Well girl…this is who you were looking for, might as well get it over with."

Kylie opened her eyes and approached the door to the room. Reaching for the handle, she heard Eduardo say something but could not make out all of it. She paused, listening.

"No…no…NO!" Banging sounds came from within. "You stupid IDIOT! Ugh! No merece la pena."

Kylie gasped at Eduardo's sudden rage and outburst. She finally opened the door and instantly heard the sound of papers and books being shuffled. The girl's dark eyes spotted Eduardo clutching a mass of papers and books; he was holding them against his chest like a security blanket. The two teenagers were stunned into silence. Neither one knew what to say or how to react to the other's stare.

Eduardo angrily broke the stalemate, "You just gonna stand there like a gargoyle statue or are you going to close the door?"

Kylie frowned and slammed it shut. "You are such an ass, you know that?"

Eduardo ignored her words and gathered all of his papers and books into a single pile on a table. Kylie's darkly-lined eyes curiously looked at the paper pile on the table. Eduardo quickly stepped between it and her, crossing his arms over his chest in a businesslike manner.

"It's called knocking, Kylie. Read about it." Eduardo's eyebrows were furrowed with annoyance.

The Goth girl scowled bitterly, "Quit whining. You act like I caught you looking at dirty magazines or something."

"Did you come up here just to insult me some more? Because as hard as it may be for you to believe this; I've got more important things to do."

Kylie took a long, deep breath, restraining her eagerness to reply with a snotty comeback. The girl approached Eduardo and looked to him with eyes devoid of hostility.

"You're right. I didn't come here to insult you." Kylie's grip around the diary tightened. "Actually…I came here to talk to you about something…_potentially _very important."

"Potentially? What is that supposed to mean? Is it like you want me to replace the milk in the fridge before it goes bad or something?"

The pale girl rubbed her temples softly. "It's…ugh…really complicated to explain and I…I just don't know when there will be a good—"

Before she could finish, Kylie's gaze unconsciously peered towards the books and papers behind Eduardo's back, tempting her with crippling curiosity. The girl blinked when she saw what looked like a test sheet with multiple red marks.

"QUIT LOOKING!" Eduardo shouted, smacking the diary out of Kylie's hands.

Kylie's face twisted with venomous hatred and she slapped Eduardo across the face, and then quickly reclaimed her tattered future diary. Eduardo held a hand to his cheek, a look of genuine shock on his face.

"I…I can't believe you just slapped me."

"Forget your stupid face! Do you have ANY idea at all how priceless this book is? It's irreplaceable. If you knew what this book meant to me your empty head would explode."

"Hey, I didn't pry into your stuff so don't go prying into mine."

"This was a HUGE mistake. I don't know why I thought I could have a civil conversation with you. Just forget everything I said."

Kylie stormed towards the door, black lips curling with boiling anger. Eduardo sighed and rubbed his spiky hair in frustration. Kylie's hand reached for the door but Eduardo quickly shouted to stop her from leaving.

"I'm just trying to give you what you want!"

Kylie stopped dead in her tracks, eyes bulging as she found herself paralyzed by confusion and curiosity. The pale girl turned around, her raven black hair flowing like a dark, majestic wave of shadows. Kylie's eyes latched firmly onto a suddenly motionless and voiceless Eduardo.

"_What _is that supposed to mean? What do you mean what I want?"

Eduardo bit his lip nervously. "I…uh…can't explain yet. I know that sounds loco but trust me, it'll all make sense sooner or later." Eduardo's eyes wandering around the room and avoiding direct eye contact with Kylie.

Kylie ruffled her hair in annoyance. "Ugh, you're making my brain hurt with all this weird behavior." The girl shook her head and looked firmly at Eduardo. "Why can't you just spit out whatever it is your trying to say or hide or whatever it is you're doing?"

"Look lady, I'm not like you! I'm not great with words and I don't read so good."

"Well…you don't read _so_ _well_," Kylie dryly corrected.

Eduardo turned his back to Kylie and growled, slamming his fists onto the table. "That's my point, dammit! I'm no good at any of this stuff and until I am, there's no way I can talk to you about what this stuff is."

The frustration and fear in Eduardo's voice was vivid, Kylie could tell he wasn't being sarcastic or playing any games with her. This was serious. In all the months she had worked with Eduardo, Kylie has never known him to be this dramatic or expressive with his personal problems. The Goth girl felt genuinely moved by Eduardo's feelings. The longer she stared at his back, the more her mind raced with questions that surrounded Eduardo like an aura; an aura that brimmed with pain and passion…it was quite a beautiful sensation to experience.

_What is this I'm sensing in Eduardo? He sounds like he's suffering, like there's something so important burning in his soul that it's crippling him by just talking about it. I've never seen him like this before. Eduardo always seems to be cut off from the rest of the team by some kind of sarcastic, rough exterior shell. Then again…people have said the same thing about me in the past too._

Eduardo sighed and slowly returned his gaze back towards Kylie. "Look, there's something on my mind that has been bugging me since it happened. If you don't know what it is don't worry. You're an Egon-level genius and I know you're smart enough to figure it out."

Kylie's face suddenly wrinkled with confusion. _Did I just hear…did he just…did Eduardo just give me a…__**compliment?!**_

"This isn't a joke or a prank. I'm dead serious Kylie. I want to talk to you about this more but I can't say anything else until I sort this all out." Eduardo approached Kylie and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Just give me some time and I promise everything will be cool again between us. This is important to me…_this 'thing' with us is important to me_…so please just chill for now, okay?"

At that very moment Kylie felt like she had been magically transported into an old episode of the "Twilight Zone." A faint shade of warm red blush colored those colorless cheeks at Eduardo's sudden affection and charms. Affection and charms were two words Kylie NEVER thought would be associated with the griping slacker known as Eduardo.

Unable to process or pronounce anything that resembled a proper response, Kylie merely nodded to Eduardo and watched as his hand was removed from her shoulder. Before she realized it, she was standing back outside the hallway in a daze with her diary still in her hands. The girl had become so overcome with confusing emotions that she didn't even remember leaving the room or if Eduardo had said anything else to her.

Garret and Roland stood in the hallway staring at Kylie's haze.

"Um... Kylie, are you all right? You look a little..." Roland couldn't quite put a name to her expression, so he did his best to imitate it with wide, staring eyes and a sense of having lost something.

Roland's question stirred Kylie back to normal, her friends staring causing further embarrassed blushes to color her cheeks. The female Ghostbuster quickly ran past Roland Garret, muttering a quick "Sorry, gotta go" as her only means of explanation.

Garret blinked and turned to Roland. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know but…at least they're not trying to kill each other."

* * *

><p>To be continued…<p> 


End file.
